Am I completely foolish to think of starting a career in trucking now?

Not completely crazy, just half silly.

It's going to be tough, make no mistake. We older guys are well aware that our jobs could disappear too.

And to be frank, not everyone can do this job; especially if their background is in "white collar". The hours, work conditions, lack of respect and long days alone are too foreign to them.

 

Being white collar can be an asset if you head in the right direction . There is an expedite husband and wife team that both left white collar jobs to go expediting . Their business background has helped them become one of the most successful and respected teams in the industry .
Everybody just looks to the bottom feeders for jobs . The easiest way in is also the easiest way to be put out .

 

You didn't say if you're married with kids,that can make you or break you out there.

 

You live in Jacksonville you wont have a hard time finding a job. Once you get some time under your belt there are alot of small companies in Starke, Lake butler, Lake city area all over an hour from jax but you will be home more often.

 

California is good because of the large manufacturing and agricultural base..The Northeast is great too, most companies have lots of freight going there.

Living along major east -west interstates,(especially route 80)near cities help ensure you'll get home without too much hassle too.

Bad places are Michigan and Florida to name a couple..

Good luck, but if it were me, I'd wait till the economy picks up.No sense starving if you don't have to.

Good luck no matter what you decide.

 

with the present state of this industry (ie) Dac-Dac-Dac" the way Driver's are abused by ...most Co's-the disrespect of Driver's in general...I'd say; if you have other option's...take'em! OTR is a hard, thankless way to earn a living! that being said; I have to believe that if you got the stuff"...it can be done! if I did'nt believe that, then I'd have to be crazy! to be in this industry. Now are you totally" confused? Good luck!

 

So many people enter trucking career thinking this is just another job. But it is NOT. It's a way of life... totally different than anything, specially OTR. You will be living inside of a truck 24/7. You will not go home every evening or once a week to see your family and friends. It's uncorfortable, it's lonesome, it's risky, for some it's too much sacrifice for the money. Many people are just looking to make some money... and there's not much to be made on the first year or more.... If you don't love living on the road, being away from family and friends for long periods of time, can't endure the hardships, the stress, the discomfort, the fatigue, the regulations, etc, etc.... don't try this. There are many other jobs out there. This is not just a job, it's a way of life. Love it or leave it. However, if you don't try it, you will not know. It would be great if you could travel for one week or two with a truck driver just to see if that's for you. Best of luck.

 

People keep saying Florida is a bad place to live when it comes to getting hired by a trucking company, Well i never had a problem finding a job when i live in Orlando. I drove for Allen Freight/Pam and Barr Nunn and could always get a load out of Florida. with allen freight, i would always haul water from nestle in Live Oaks or beer from anheuser bush in Jacksonville, or paper loads from P&G in Palatka and with Barr Nunn, U.S Sugar loads from Clewiston. so freight is coming out of florida, i guess it depends on who you drive for or maybe they just wanted to get me out of florida because once i left florida, they would always keep me in the northeast or out west until it was hometime, then they would always seem to find a load heading toward Orlando.

 

Stay away from OTR in the short term and find you a nice LTL position somewhere close to home...